Arabic Wedding Invitation Fonts for Names, Verses and Details

What a wedding card asks of a font

• Names first: the couple's names are the largest line. They must be spelled exactly as the families write them, with vowel marks if the family uses them.
• A formal register: an invitation has a ceremonial tone. A classical or calligraphic face sets it better than an interface sans.
• An opening verse or formula: Arabic cards often open with a Quranic verse or the basmala (بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم, bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim). That line needs reliable harakat (حركات, short-vowel marks).
• Readable details: date, time and venue are set small. They need a face drawn for text, not for display.

Which font for each line of the card

Amiri is the workhorse of the card: verse, invitation wording and practical details. Its classical Naskh is a natural choice for fully voweled text, and its Bold gives the names a formal weight.

Aref Ruqaa gives the names a handwritten, personal feel. Pair it with Amiri for the rest of the card, and test any vowel marks on the names, since Ruq'ah is usually written without them.

For a card written in Urdu, choose an Urdu Nastaliq. Gulzar has one weight, so build contrast with size and color. Noto Nastaliq Urdu runs from 400 to 700 in one variable file, which lets the names stand out in a heavier weight.

Set any Quranic verse in Amiri or another of the Quran fonts, not in the decorative faces: Aref Ruqaa, Gulzar and Noto Nastaliq Urdu lack most of the Quranic signs we checked.

Before you print

• Ask someone from each family to read the proof. A single missing dot changes a name.
• Type the names with the online Arabic keyboard, add harakat if you want them, and paste the text into the layout rather than retyping it.
• On a bilingual card, set the Arabic and English blocks as separate paragraphs, each with its own direction, then align them.
• Nastaliq and fully voweled Naskh both need extra line height. Check that marks and descenders stay clear of the next line and of the card's border.
• Order one physical proof. Foil stamping and embossing can lose fine strokes and small dots.

The guide to choosing an Arabic font explains how to match a face to a formal tone, and other classical text faces sit among the Naskh fonts. For a more decorative title, see Arabic calligraphy fonts.